BILL OF RIGHTS – UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION

This article will be discussing about the concept of Bill of Rights under the United States Constitution

 

1. INTRODUCTION:

 

The exercise of State power is regulated and structured by a constitution. Bills of rights have developed a significant role in a Constitution overall regulatory structure over the course of the 20th century.

 

A bill of rights is premised upon the idea that there are limits to the coercive power or authority that a sovereign can legitimately exercise upon individuals subject to his jurisdiction, even if that sovereign is a popularly elected government. Or to put it another way, there are limits to how far the majority can legitimately exercise the power that it has won through the ballot box, in a democracy. When these limits are spelt out in the form of rights vested in individuals or citizens that mark the boundaries of State power, the result is a “bill of rights”.

 

2. BILL OF RIGHTS:

 

“The Bill of Rights” is the name used to refer the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Each of the ten amendments either establishes a specific restriction on the federal government's authority or guarantees some essential right that should be available to everyone.

 

The Bill of Rights represents the American ideology of freedom, personal liberty, minimum interference on part of the Government and rule of law.

 

In 1791, the Bill of Rights was adopted as a single unit. It precisely sets forth the relationship between an American citizen and the government in power. It also ensures one’s civil rights, individual freedom and personal liberty. The Bill of Rights also places restrictions on the authority and discretion of the government in power in order to protect citizens' personal rights and privacy.

 

Thomas Jefferson, one of the framers and a proponent of and activist for the Bill of Rights, had succinctly outlined the definition of the Bill of Rights, as: “A Bill of Rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular, and what no just government should refuse, or rest on inference.”

 

3. ORIGIN:

 

The origin of bills of rights goes as far back as the 13th century, when King John of England was compelled by his barons to sign the ‘Magna Carta’ or, the ‘Great Charter’ on 1215, a document that circumscribed the boundaries within which the King could act. As early as 1215 the English people exacted an assurance from the King John for respect of the then ancient liberties. The Magna Carta is the evidence of their success which is a written document.

Magna Carta is the first written document relating to fundamental rights of the citizens. Thereafter from time to time the king had to accede many rights to his subjects. In 1689 the Bill of Rights written consolidating all important rights and liberties of the English people. In French Declaration of Rights of Man and the Citizen (1789) declared the natural, inalienable and sacred rights of man. Following the spirit of the Magna Carta of the British and the Declaration of the Rights of the man and the Citizen of France, the American incorporated the Bill of Rights a Constitutional status.

 

4. PURPOSE OF THE UNITED STATES BILL OF RIGHTS

 

The purpose behind the Bill of Rights was twofold. The first one was to protect and guarantee individual rights and another was to limit the powers of the government. However, in 1791, i.e., immediately after the ratification of the Bill of Rights, it applied only to the federal governments and not to the state governments as affirmed by the Supreme Court in Baron vs. Baltimore (1833). The Bill of Rights did not apply to the state and local government for decades. 

 

5. FIRST 10 AMENDMENTS OF THE AMERICAN CONSTITUTION:

 

“The Bill of Rights” is the name used to refer the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Those amendments are as follows;

 

i. First Amendment

 

First Amendment of United States Constitution states that,

 

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

 

The First Amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assembly or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievance.

 

ii. Second Amendment

 

Second Amendment of United States Constitution states that,

 

A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

 

The Second Amendment protects the individual right to keep and bear arms. The concept of such a right existed within English common law long before the enactment of the Bill of Rights.

 

iii. Third Amendment

 

Third Amendment of United States Constitution states

 

No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

 

The Third Amendment restricts the quartering of soldiers in private homes, in response to Quartering Act passed by the British parliament during the Revolutionary War. The amendment is one of the least controversial of the Constitution, and, as of November 2022, has never been the primary basis of a Supreme Court decision.

 

iv. Fourth Amendment

 

Fourth Amendment of United States Constitution states

 

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

 

The Fourth Amendment guards against unreasonable searches and seizes, along with requiring any warrant to be judicially sanctioned and supported by probable cause. It was adopted as a response to the abuse of the writ of assistance which is a type of general search warrant, in the American Revolution.

v. Fifth Amendment

 

Fifth Amendment of United States Constitution states

 

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

 

The Fifth Amendment protects against double jeopardy and self-incrimination guarantees the rights to due process, grand jury screening of criminal indictments, and compensation for the seizure of private property under eminent domain. 

 

vi. Sixth Amendment

 

Sixth Amendment of United States Constitution states

 

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.

 

vii. Seventh Amendment

 

Seventh Amendment of United States Constitution states

 

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

 

The Seventh Amendment guarantees jury trials in federal civil cases that deal with claims of more than twenty dollars. It also prohibits judges from overruling findings of fact by juries in federal civil trials. 

 

viii. Eighth Amendment

 

Eighth Amendment of United States Constitution states

 

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

 

The Eighth Amendment forbids the imposition of excessive bails or fines, though it leaves the term "excessive" open to interpretation. The most frequently litigated clause of the amendment is the last, which forbids cruel and unusual punishment.

 

ix. Ninth Amendment

 

Ninth Amendment of United States Constitution states

 

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

 

There are additional fundamental rights that exist outside of the Constitution, according to the Ninth Amendment. The Constitution does not contain a complete and explicit list of all individual rights.

 

x. Tenth Amendment

 

Tenth Amendment of United States Constitution states

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

 

By stating that all powers neither prohibited by the Constitution from being exercised by the states nor granted to the federal government are reserved for the states or the people, the Tenth Amendment strengthens the concepts of separation of powers and federalism. The amendment does not grant the states any new powers or rights; instead, it preserves their existing authority over all matters that are neither expressly granted to the federal government nor expressly forbidden to the states.

 

6. CONCLUSION:

 

A significant chapter in American history is the Bill of Rights. The interpretation and application of these amendments are just as important today as they were when they were first ratified, despite the fact that society has changed significantly over the past two centuries.